(The Center Square) – In key statewide races where incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republicans are showing slight leads in polling, Independents and Libertarians are running.

The lesser-known candidates are running as Texas native and Hollywood actor Matthew McConaughey weighed in on the midterm elections, encouraging Texans to vote, including for third-party candidates. They are also running as a new push has begun to elect Independents to office.

In the race for governor, Libertarian Party candidate Pat Dixon gets support from 2% of those surveyed, according to recent polls. Independent write-in candidates on the ballot include Edward Giles, Jinghpaw Majoishingra, Mike Miller and Jenn Mack Raphoon.

In the race for lieutenant governor, Green Party candidate Kevin McCormick, Libertarian Party candidate Anthony Cristo and Independent write-ins Arturo Espinosa and Stephen Samuelson are running. Cristo has 3% support in recent polling; McCormick has 1%, according to recent polls.

In the race for attorney general, Libertarian Party candidate Tom Oxford has 3% support.

In the race for Agriculture commissioner, Libertarian Austin Kelly has 2% support.

In the race for land commissioner, Libertarian Neill Snider has 2% support.

In the race for Texas Railroad Commissioner, Libertarian Arthur DiBianca has 2% support.

In the race for State Comptroller, Libertarian Alonzo Echavarria-Garza has 2% support. Green Party candidate Shela Faizis is also running.

In the race for U.S. Senate, Libertarian Ted Brown has 3% support. Independent write-in candidates include Avery Ayers, Bradford Hall, Zul Mohamed and Jade Simmons.

In each of these races, between 7 and 12% polled said they weren’t sure how they were voting. Early voting is underway through Oct. 30.

For years, Americans have been told that voting for a third-party candidate is “a wasted vote,” McConaughey said in a six-minute video posted on social media. “Well how has that unwasted vote been working?” he asked, referring to those who voted for Republicans or Democrats.

McConaughey, who says he isn’t endorsing any candidate or party, says he’s advocating for “fairness and reality. I believe in a fair fight, and a fair fight is not just two fighters throwing the same punches at each other for 50 years. A fair fight is when the fighters who ought to be represented in the fight are actually in the fight.

“Here's a fact. The number one political identity in America today is not Democrat. It is not Republican. It is Independent. There are more of us [Independents] than either party. Independents belong in the fight, not as a protest, not as a spoiler but as a real and potential winner on the ballot.”

Voting for a third party candidate provides “a permanent check to keep them both honest. America's brand was never R or D, it's independence,” he said, pointing to America’s heritage and the Declaration of Independence, “not the Declaration of Compromise.”

The current political system has “never been more lopsided,” he added. “In 2024, 87 percent of the U.S. House seats were effectively decided in party primaries by only 7% of eligible voters.” A minority of voters deciding who is running for office means for “most Americans, the real election is over before they ever even show up,” he said. “It's more like a scrimmage. One team playing against itself deciding the season for everybody else.”

Ahead of the 2022 election, McConaughey was floated as a potential gubernatorial candidate with favorable polling. He decided against it, The Center Square reported.

Earlier this year, former U.S. Sen. and governor of West Virginia, Joe Manchin, launched the Independent Leadership Council to recruit, fund and support Independent candidates for Congress. Independents have a majority in 16 states and 106 districts, according to the council.

“America was founded on the belief that freedom and competition make us stronger. Somewhere along the way, our politics lost sight of those principles. Decades of partisanship carved a divide most Americans never wanted. Instead of choosing sides, we're changing the game by charting a new path that gives leaders the freedom to serve people, not parties,” the council says.

The council also published a “Declaration of Independents,” adding that those who commit to it believe “America’s best days are ahead of her” and are dedicated “to putting the country above both party and self.”

According to recent polls, likely Texas voters are unhappy with both parties, with the majority polled saying Texas and the country are headed in the wrong direction.